The First Meal at Zisui's Place (Minor Revision)

Yin City, Ruolan Star's third human metropolis, was one of the twelve megasettlements established by the Human Race. Its walls towered high, and its population exceeded a hundred million.

Yin City lay in the south of Kaiyang Continent, facing the Great Rainforest across the Lingyun River to the north and less than a hundred li from the Canglang Ocean to the south. Rich in resources and dense with Spiritual Qi, it was one of the Human Race's important foundations for development.

By now, night had deepened. In the latter half of the night, only a few streetlights kept watch over Yin City, casting a dim yellow glow. The old part of the West District, which had yet to be demolished and renovated, was darker still.

The Ghoul, having already adapted to local customs, readily accepted the name Lou Shisui. It was just a name change; deciding what to eat was more important.

He walked alone through the shadows, his presence completely suppressed, like a ghost that didn't exist.

A full day of wandering had been enough for him to blend into his surroundings.

This place was called a city, but it was actually about as large as an entire province in a certain major country from his previous life.

Yin City consisted of five major districts and numerous county-level towns and villages. Huanzhu County in the West District, where he was now, covered more than 3,200 square kilometers on its own.

And Huanzhu County was considered a relatively small county.

He continued on his way, searching for prey to his liking. He carried no Psychic Energy products that might allow him to be tracked.

Without drawing attention to himself, he had used the map in his memory to get a general grasp of the county's roads.

The place was large enough, the old district had no surveillance cameras, and the county-level city defense forces were only average in strength.

Lou Shisui deftly put on a pair of disposable gloves he had taken from a restaurant, then reached up and pulled on a disposable mask.

A wide, deep hood covered him completely. He pushed lightly off the ground and vanished from where he stood.

In the distance, a man who had just gotten off work stepped into a pitch-black stairwell.

Li Jianyang had just finished showering. He looked up at the old clock on the wall and realized it was already 2:29.

He sighed, wondering whether he should find another job.

Even if he was still young enough to keep it up for a while, a schedule that reversed night and day like this would wear his body down sooner or later.

He switched off the light and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window by the balcony, intending to close it and go to bed.

The living room light was already off, and the bedroom light had yet to be switched on. Only the faint glow of a streetlight fell on Li Jianyang.

The instant he reached the balcony, a dark figure darted inside. Before he could react, his mouth and nose were covered.

Something coiled around his body, leaving him unable to exert any strength. A slight prick of pain came from his spine.

"Crack."

It was the sound of a human neck breaking.

And just like that, Li Jianyang fell into eternal slumber.

Overlapping Bikaku danced in the darkness. Under the faint glow of the streetlight, the Blade Scales on eight whipping tails shimmered with a dark red metallic sheen.

They gently embraced the man's limp body, the rustling sound of bones being crushed like a lover's whisper.

Among the Bikaku was a Rinkaku withdrawing into the body.

This Rinkaku looked particularly similar to the other Bikaku. The only difference was the specialized stinger at its tip, which had now retracted.

Once the stinger had injected a mixture of toxins into the prey, its job was done.

The immediate priority was to pack him up and take him away.

Lou Shisui assessed the man's condition. He was already in shock, and before long, he would suffer internal bleeding because his blood's ability to clot had been impaired.

Even with a scorpion tail, did I still inject about two grams too much toxin? This body hasn't fully adapted to its new Kagune yet.

Shisui withdrew some of his Bikaku, leaving only two to hold the prey.

He leaped lightly out the window. Ink-dark wings like those of an owl spread open in an instant, silently carrying Shisui away from the area.

"Dong—"

The old clock on the wall sounded its half-hour chime, the note drifting out through the open balcony.

This was the side of a canal in the old district, surrounded by aging apartment buildings.

There were no goods here that needed a security guard to watch over them at night, and most of the residents were holdouts standing in the way of city planning. Forget cameras—

Even the streetlights had been deliberately broken. Only the occasional scattered speck of light fell from distant homes.

Lou Shisui brought his late-night snack to the dining table he had carefully chosen.

The ground and walls of the dark alley beside the canal were made of stone that was easy to clean, and the smell of domestic sewage would cover things up. Even if a few red stains remained, no one would notice them.

Besides, he had always been a believer in the "clean plate" principle. Even the bones had to be crushed and completely cleared away.

Without a corpse, the case would only be reported as a disappearance.

And disappearances were one of the excuses commonly used by certain middle- and upper-level members of the Human Race to cover things up.

In this world, not looking too closely into missing-person cases was an unspoken workplace rule~

Lou Shisui lifted the limp object from the ground and slowly savored the crimson liquid that flowed out.

By now, the toxins had spread rapidly throughout the human body through the bloodstream, completely destroying its ability to clot. The brightly colored liquid flowed smoothly from the gash.

As the liquid entered his mouth, a slightly bitter chocolate flavor spread across his tongue.

The prey, which had only just breathed its last, still retained a faint warmth, bringing out a rich, lingering aroma.

Just the right touch of bitterness. Ah, he only recently started staying up late.

After drinking some hot chocolate, Shisui stopped when he felt he had had enough.

I have to leave some, or the meat will turn dry.

The large amount of Psychic Energy-rich matter caused Shisui's body to undergo further transformation, and the Rc Cells inside him began to multiply rapidly.

An exoskeleton spread quickly from his shoulders, covering his entire body.

He gave the object in front of him a gentle squeeze and confirmed that it had become completely soft.

He casually and skillfully began cutting it up with his Bikaku, so he could finish before it cooled and the flavor changed.

Shattered white mixed with gorgeous red, adding a crisp texture to the soft chocolate cake.

A warm power began to fill Shisui's body. He paused, feeling the sudden change.

The rapid growth of Rc Cells did produce a distinct sensation, but this was different. The growth of this energy felt similar to that of Rc Cells, but warmer.

His intuition told him that this was Psychic Energy, a gentler energy distinct from Rc Cells.

Ha, what a marvelous mutation. After being turned into a Ghoul, I fused with this world's Psychic Energy to adapt to the environment, changing so that I now draw on Psychic Energy to support the multiplication and evolution of Rc Cells.

No fixed upper limit on supplies, plus an abundance of prey—wasn't this new world a little too wonderful?

Faint swallowing sounds lingered in the alley. The Kakugan reflected the weak light from afar, flickering between the intertwined Kagune.

"Click."

The crisp sound of a window opening rang out in the messy single room.

Lou Shisui vaulted over the windowsill and into the room. Having eaten his fill, he felt sleepy for the first time in a while.

It was only a little past 3:30, and he had already finished his late-night snack and returned.

For Shisui in his previous life, that speed would have counted as eating slowly and carefully. For the present Shisui, it was practically binge eating.

He quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth, then sniffed himself to check whether he had been splashed with blood.

Mm, perfectly clean. Just what I'd expect from me!

He turned and went back into the small room, threw himself onto the bed, wrapped himself up in the blanket, and went straight to sleep.